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Tet 2013 – Vietnamese New Year - Year of the
Snake
(John 3:14-16 NIV)
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert,
so the Son of Man must be lifted up, {15}
that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life.
{16} "For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
According to
http://www.holidaysia.com/events/tet/:
Tet is the common name for the Vietnamese New
Year (Vietnamese: Tết Nguyên Đán). It is
by far the country’s most important holiday, and
is a bit like combining Christmas, New Year’s,
and your birthday into one celebration.
Like
Chinese New Year, Tet takes place on the
first day of the first month of the Lunar
calendar. This usually translates to late
January or early February on the Gregorian
calendar. In 2013 Tet will be celebrated on
February 10.
The years are represented by 12 zodiac animals:
rat, buffalo, tiger, cat, dragon, snake, horse,
goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. These
animals rotate through 12-year periods. Each
animal has different strengths and weaknesses
that they are believed to pass on to any person
born in their year.
The Year of the Snake! In Vietnam, the snake is
considered a symbol of luck. 2013 is believed by
many to be the year of prosperity and peace. For
the Vietnamese people, Vietnamese New Year is
like a combination of New Year's Day, Christmas,
Easter and Thanksgiving. The Vietnamese consider
Tet to be the year's most important festival.
There are many customs practiced by Vietnamese
during Tet, such as ancestral worship, giving
away lucky money to children and elderly people,
cooking traditional food, decorating the house,
and many other unique customs. Family members
gather in their hometowns, traveling from across
the country (or the world) to spend the Tet
holidays in each other's company.
Vietnamese New Year Traditions
Much like Christmas, preparations for Tet begin
well ahead of the holiday. Every new year is
seen as a clean slate, a chance for people to
begin anew and be more successful than they were
in the year before.
 Many
families renovate houses in the weeks leading up
to Tet, adding even more noise to the already
raucous streets of Vietnam. If a house isn’t
renovated it is at least thoroughly cleaned. New
outfits are purchased to signify a new change,
and many people change companies or try to
switch lines of work. It is also considered good
luck to open a business around Tet.
There also certain types of food that become
popular around Tet, the most common of which are
banh chung and banh day. These
consist of rice with meat or bean fillings
tightly wrapped inside a banana leaf, and are
the most important traditional Tet dishes.
In the month before Tet towns and cities
throughout the country set up flower streets,
and families set up flower displays in front of
their homes. During this period Vietnam’s
streets explode with color and give a sense of
vitality before the start of the new year. In Ho
Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s largest city, one of
downtown’s main boulevards is shut down and
transformed into an elaborate flower exhibition
that attracts visitors from the entire region.
The three days immediately before Tet are when
the holiday kicks into high gear. The cities
empty as urban residents return to their
family’s hometown to reunite with relatives, as
Tet is really all about family. Foreigners and
other people living in the city who don’t have
family to visit may be “adopted” and join their
Vietnamese family, this is a strange experience.
The normally vibrant streets are quiet, and many
businesses shut down, making it somewhat
difficult to visit your usual restaurants and
stalls.
Other customs include the giving of Li Xi,
or lucky money, to children.
Relatives will fill red envelopes with small
bills and give them to children in the family
the day of Tet as a sign of good luck.
Children are supposed to display their respect
for their elders before receiving the money.
Ancestor worship is also a key part of Tet, and
nearly every home in Vietnam contains a family
shrine where the spirits of deceased relatives
are kept. Gifts, including Li Xi and
food, are placed in the shrines to keep
ancestors content in the afterlife.
Most cities put on a massive fireworks display
the evening of Tet, providing an explosive
finish to the holiday and signaling to the
nation that it is time to get back to work.
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